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Don't let the fact that Christmas is less than a week away send you into a panic spiral. Instead, make it an excuse to get your Holiday shopping underway—especially since we have gift ideas for all the children on your list. Whether you're shopping for toddlers or teens, we've found just the right items to bring them joy. Shopping for a baby? We've got a whole separate list of ideas for them.
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From the hottest new toys out this year to old favourites from years past, we tested everything to ensure that every item on our list is something children will actually want. These are the best presents for children of 2020, according to Reviewed.
1. For toddlers who are crawling: Pull-back vehicles
Many of the toys marketed to pre-walkers are really boring, but not so this set of Melissa & Doug Pull-Back Vehicles. What makes these soft cars and trucks so fun is that you can rev-up the wheels and race them around the house. The set includes a school bus, car, fire truck, and police car, and our executive editor TJ Donegan is a fan because they go fast, don't make a lot of noise, and don't damage walls or furniture.
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Get the Melissa & Doug Pull-Back Vehicles on Amazon for £24.11
2. For children who are beginning builders: A big bag of giant blocks
Building blocks are a great way to encourage small motor coordination, but classic wooden blocks can be heavy for little hands. Mega Blocks are made from colourful, lightweight plastic, and can be clicked together to build tall towers and other structures. This set includes 150 blocks—some with curved shapes—as well as a zippered bag for easy clean-up and storage.
Get the First Builders Deluxe Building Bag on Amazon for £17.99
3. For children who miss the playground: Their very own ball pit
If you've spent any time at a soft play area you know that the ball pit is the hot spot for the toddler set, but it's also a cesspool of germs. You can create your very own— less germy—version at home with a Play Tent and Pop-up ball pit. Toddlers and pre-walkers will love exploring the two tunnels, and it comes with a carrying case so you can fold it up and store it when not in use. One thing worth noting: The balls have to be purchased separately and come in batches of 200.
Get the Hide N Side 5Pc Kids Ball Pit on Amazon for £69.95
4. For tiny gardeners: Laugh & Learn Grow-the-Fun Garden to Kitchen
Every child should have a play kitchen, and Fisher-Price is taking it to the next level this year with one that also includes a pretend garden. Toddlers and preschoolers will love "planting" their garden, gathering eggs, and mixing up smoothies in the kitchen—all while they learn important concepts like numbers, shapes, and the alphabet.
Get the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Grow-the-Fun Garden to Kitchen at Amazon for £59.99
5. For better imaginative play: A 3-D play carpet
No space for a train table? Get them a 3-D play carpet instead! Designed by an architect (who is also a mom), the colourful carpets come in five different designs—mini-city, beach house, farm, playhouse, and traffic—and four different sizes. children will love steering the wooden vehicles through the streets, and parents will love that the carpets can be rolled up and stored when not in use.
Get the IVI Mini City Play Carpet at Amara for £90
6. For children who love to play dress-up: A box of whimsical rings
As any kid who likes to dress up will tell you, one can never have too many accessories. Give them the gift of a whole set of cute and colourful rings to take their imaginary play to the next level. The rings are adjustable to fit fingers of all different sizes.
Get the Pink Sheep Jewel Rings in a box on Amazon for £9.98
7. For cool imaginary play: An ice cream set
Take their imaginative play to a delicious new level with the Melissa & Doug Wooden Scoop & Serve Ice Cream Counter. The self-contained set has everything your children need to run their very own scoop shop, including eight different flavours of ice cream, six toppings, two cones, a cup, ice cream scooper, tongs, wooden spoon, and even six pretend money. We've had this set for years and it still engages my 7-year-old for long periods of play.
Get the Melissa & Doug Wooden Scoop & Serve Ice Cream Counter at Amazon for £45.90
8. For children who like stuffed animals: Cutetitos Pizzaitos
My children have been obsessed with Cutetitos ever since they first saw them, and the newest version, Pizzaitos, is no exception. The cute and cuddly small stuffed animals come wrapped in their very own blankets that look like slices of pizza. There's a surprise element as well: The packaging hides what's inside, so they never know which one they're going to get.
Get Cutetitos Pizzaitos on Amazon for £7.99
9. For screen-free entertainment: A box that tells them stories
Toniebox was invented by two dads who wanted to find a way to engage children _without_ putting them in front of a screen. Pair the colourful little gadget with "Tonies"—magnetic pieces that children can connect to their box that sing songs and tell stories. children can also record their own stories and songs through the companion app, and then play them back to themselves on their Toniebox. The best part about the Toniebox? Children can operate it without any adult assistance. My children love theirs, and I'll often find them curled up in a chair listening to stories and songs (instead of zoned out on a tablet).
Get the Toniebox Starter Set on Amazon for £69.95
10. For children who love fairies: A flying Pixie
Hatchimals have been topping Christmas gift lists for several years, but their newest toy, Crystal Flyers, is the coolest one yet. Open up the giant Hatchimals Pixie crystal to discover a delicate fairy that flies through the air. Essentially a pixie-shaped drone, the Crystal Flyers charge with a USB cord and children can easily control her flying with a simple movement of their hand.
Get the Hatchimals Pixie Crystal Flyers at Argos for £35
11. For children who love a surprise: A doll that blooms
Blume dolls are cute little dolls with big heads of hair that grow out of their flower pots when children water them. The newest entry to the Blume universe is the Skyrocket Rainbow Sparkle Surprise that includes three glittery Blume dolls plus a rainbow that rains. The rainbow can be re-used again and again, and the flower pots can be repurposed to hold mini plants.
Get the Blume Skyrocket Rainbow Sparkle Surprise on Amazon for £24.99
12. For a fun family game: A funny guessing game
Hedbanz Junior is quite honestly one of the best games to play with children. It moves quickly so no one gets bored, and it almost always ends with someone laughing really hard. We got it as a gift several years ago and it's still one of our favourites.
Get Hedbanz Junior on Amazon for £26.96
13. For children who are iPad addicts: Smarter screen time
Osmo blends digital games with a physical component for a very cool, interactive experience. The Osmo Genius Starter Kit comes with everything your child needs in order to play five different mind-bending games, including Tangram, Masterpiece, and Newton. My children love playing Tangrams, and I appreciate that it's not just mindless screen time.
Get the Osmo Genius Starter Kit on Amazon for £64.99
14. For children who love dolls: Mealtime Magic Mia
If there's a child on your list who loves to play with dolls, they'll flip over this newest interactive version. Mealtime Magic Ma has a moving tongue, blinking eyes, and she responds vocally to whatever "food" she gets fed with a "yuck" or a "yum." children will love watching the spoon light up with different food colours, and they'll get a kick out of her reactions.
Get Mealtime Magic Mia at Amazon for £44
15. For children who love nature: A classic pair of binoculars
Children who are curious about birds, bees, and the natural world will appreciate the gift of a pair of binoculars designed just for them. These lightweight, colourful binoculars are easy for children to use, and come with a neck strap so they won't get dropped too often. Pair them with a bird spotting book and see how many feathered friends they can identify.
Get the Scotamalone Shock Proof Binoculars on Amazon for £8.99
Get the National Trust: Out and About Bird Spotter on Amazon for £5.87
16. For children who love to build: A toy with endless possibilities
Children who love to build and create will love the ZOOB Mind-Building Modeling System. What sets ZOOBs apart from other building toys is that the pieces include gears, axels and joints that snap together, thereby enabling children to move and rotate whatever it is that they build. ZOOBs have been a favourite toy in our house for years, and we're planning to add to our collection this holiday season with a Creepy Glow Creatures add-on set.
Get a ZOOB Builderz 250 piece kit on Amazon for £37
17. For children who want an alternative to LEGOs: A rollercoaster they can build
K'nex has always been a great choice for children who love to build, but the Dragon's Revenge Thrill Coaster is another level of engineering fun. Budding engineers can build their very own working roller coaster that features a drawbridge entrance, a light-up coaster car, and a ferocious dragon that flaps its wings. Best for ages 9 and up, this K'nex creation will provide thrills—and entertainment—for hours on end.
Get the K'nex Dragon's Revenge Thrill Coaster on Amazon for £25.19
18. For children who like science projects: A gravity-powered marble run
Science-minded children ages 8 and up will go gaga over GraviTrax, a super cool kit that enables them to design and build their own marble runs. There are no electronics here, just plain old science in the form of gravity, magnetism, and kinetics. children will spend hours designing different track systems to discover which is the fastest. The starter kit includes over 100 pieces and 18 different construction elements, including junctions and a magnetic cannon. Additional add-on sets can be purchased to create even longer marble runs, and make great gifts for future birthdays and holidays.
Get the Ravensburger Gravitrax Starter Set at Argos for £35
19. For children who are budding shutterbugs: A digital camera
Encourage their love for photography with our favourite digital camera for children, the Olympus Tough TG-6. This super durable camera has loads of features to make their photos pop, and it can even be used underwater.
Get the Olympus Tough TG-6 on Amazon for £334.99
20. For screen lovers: A kid-friendly tablet
The Amazon Fire 8 Kids Edition is our favourite tablet for children, thanks to how easy it is to set-up and use. It also comes with plenty of pre-installed apps and videos so that you won't be forced to spend your entire Holiday break downloading—and purchasing—a boatload of games for your kid. The Fire 8 HD Kids Edition also comes with Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, which provides access to more than 13,000 age-appropriate games, apps, videos and books.
Get the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition for £99.99
21. For children who love music: A portable speaker
The teens on your shopping list will appreciate the gift of a great portable speaker so that they can take their tunes with them anywhere. The Anker Soundcore2 offers outstanding sound quality, it comes in a variety of colours, and it's even partially waterproof so it can likely survive whatever shenanigans your teen gets themselves into.
Get the Anker Soundcore2 at Amazon for £39.99
22. For family game night: A fun new board game
Looking for a new contender for your favourite board game? Bugs in the Kitchen is loads of fun for all ages. Guide the battery-operated bug into your "trap" by strategically adjusting the utensil maze. The fast-moving game is entertaining for children ages 5 and up, and once it's set-up doesn't require any reading so that children can even play it by themselves.
Get Bugs in the Kitchen on Amazon for £22.99
23. For children on the go: Our favourite scooter
Scooters are always a popular holiday gift, but if you're not sure which one to buy, we've taken the guesswork out of choosing the best scooter. Our kid testers all agree that the Micro Maxi is the perfect scooter for first-time riders. Not only does it come in a variety of colours, but it's easy to use and super fun to ride—plus it has awesome light-up wheels.
Get the Micro Kickboard Maxi Deluxe Scooter on Amazon for £133.38
24. For children who love to craft: A gel jewellery kit
For a mess-free craft that children will love, look no further than the Jelli Rez jewellery kit. It's super easy to use and makes cute, sparkly jewellery and accessories that children will want to wear over and over. Our kid testers really enjoyed making their own bracelets and hair clips, plus the affordable price point makes this a great stocking stuffer.
Get the Jelli Rez Fantasy Jewellery Pack on Amazon for £9.99
25. For children who dream of stardom: Their own microphone
If the kid in your life dreams of one day performing on "America's Got Talent," why not encourage their aspirations with a wireless microphone? The Bonaok pairs wirelessly with Bluetooth so they can perform their best karaoke songs right at home. It also comes in a variety of bright and metallic hues so they can have one in their favourite colour.
Get the Bonaok Wireless Bluetooth Microphone on Amazon for £32.99
26. For children who are collectors: Bright Fairy Friends
Bright Fairy Friends are adorable little dolls who arrive in their very own twinkling fairy jar. Each doll has light-up wings, and they come with six different fairy surprises like glitter jars and hair clips. You never know which BFF you're going to get, which means children will definitely want to collect them all.
Get Bright Fairy Friends at Amazon for £12.99
27. For children who love to clean: Let's Play House! Dust! Sweep! Mop!
Put them to work helping you clean while they have fun, with Melissa & Doug's Dust! Sweep! Mop! set. The wooden set includes a broom, mop, and duster so they have all the tools they need to do a thorough job.
Get the Let's Play House House! set at Amazon for £27.75
28. For children who love space: Interactive Constellation and World Globe
Bring the night sky right into their room with this 3-in-1 Interactive Constellation and World Globe. During the day, children can learn about geography on this colorful large globe, and at night simply plug it in and see the night sky come to life on the ceiling of their room. Spin the globe to watch the constellations change based on location.
Get the TTKTK 3-in-1 Interactive Constellation and World Globe on Amazon for £29.99
The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered this holiday season. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Prices are accurate at the time of publication, but may change over time.
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